shabby chic

Yep, if you read my previous post you have already seen this photo. That was a collection post of various projects I had made for an upcoming craft show. Now that the show is over I have time to show a few DIYs of those projects. I decided the shabby chic trunk lid coffee table would be first.

Many years ago I found this trunk, along with a couple of others, at an auction in Kansas. This was when we lived in Colorado. My husband was a superhero for figuring out how to strap them to the top of the car to get them home. The trunks came full circle when we moved to Kansas in 2000.

This particular trunk was the largest and the hardest to find a spot for in our home. It became the keepsake trunk. We filled it with wedding, birth, baby, school and other life memorabilia of our family. It was heavy. The best place we found for it’s resting place was in my son’s room. Yes, he was thrilled. Not. We put a television on top of it and treated it like a built in. After we sold our old house I decided it was time for a change. The memories were relocated and the trunk went into storage. After finally getting my storage units completely cleaned out (Yay, me!) I still couldn’t bring myself to get rid of the trunk…, but I had a vision. Hubby became a superhero again. I told him what I wanted and he helped me make it happen.

Try as I might, I could not find a before picture of the entire trunk so I’ll just have to jump in starting with the lid. The lid is really the only thing I needed for this project. I’ll figure out something for the bottom later. 😉

While once upon a time the lid was strong enough to hold a heavy television, I felt it needed stabilizing for a coffee table that might be holding feet or the occasional butt. We cut a thick board and attached it to the underside of the lid.

Next came another coffee table I had picked up at a yard sale. I briefly considered giving it a makeover, but the legs were the perfect style for my trunk lid coffee table. It was meant to be. We removed the top and placed the trunk lid on top. It didn’t thrill me. The size of the frame the legs were attached to was too small. I wanted the legs in the corners of the trunk lid.

No biggie. Instead of removing the legs, we decided to cut the frame apart. Keeping the legs attached to the frame pieces helped create stability.

We simply attached the legs and the frame pieces to the underside of the table with glue and screws.

After that it was just a matter of giving it a paint job. I started with a gray chalk paint and topped that with a light gray paint.

Since my friend passed away my husband has helped to fill the void by doing things with me that she would have done…like looking for bargains. I appreciate his thoughtfulness so much.

He went with me to some yard sales a few weeks ago and we came across this little gem. It had great bones and the price was right!

As we drove away I told him how much I loved the little drawer.

Hubby: Did she say that was where she kept her stash?
Me: (One eyebrow went up and I looked at him cross-eyed.) Uh, no. She said that is where she stashed the remote so the kids couldn’t find it.

Yep, me thinks my hubby needs his ears checked.

After a good cleaning and sanding I painted it white. White seems to be my go-to, but it’s a great base for several finishes and besides, I like it.

I then sanded it again to shabby it up some. Another good go-to, but it needed something more.

I got out my waxes and and gave the finish a cool vintage-western look.

But then there was that drawer. (There was no stash…I checked. 😉 )The whole project had been such a no-brainer that I wanted to do a little more. I had just finished a project that used the cover of a book and the pages inside were just sitting there waiting for me to notice them. The book was an old Emily Post etiquette book and the pages were pretty hilarious. I picked a couple and decoupaged them into the bottom of the drawer. I love that drawer even more now!

I picked this chair up at a local auction a couple of weeks ago. There were a lot of chairs at the sale, but there was a bunch of competition with the bidding. I prefer cheap, so I patiently waited. I finally snagged this one. I actually think the other bidders took pity on me because I wasn’t getting anything. LOL! Then again, it may have looked like too much work. 😉

The transformation began with paint. Paint can work wonders, but there was still the glaring problem of not having a seat.

I decided to make a woven seat out of fabric. Digging through my stash, pink prints just seemed to be calling to me.

What do you think?

I now have things at Trunk N Treasures in Winfield, Kansas. If you are local or visiting, come by for a look. You can also find Trunk N Treasures on Facebook.

I was going through some boxes that I had stored some craft supplies in when I came across some old books that were left over from a previous project. They became the inspiration for my next project.

I love the look of anything made with book pages, but I had never made a book page wreath. Preparing the books was the first thing on the agenda.

I used old paperbacks and removed the covers. Even the cover over the spine. I also tore them apart into small books about 1/4-inch thick. This makes it easier to accomplish the next step.

In a cake pan I placed eight single-serve tea bags and filled the pan with hot water. I let the bags steep for about 20 minutes and them removed the bags. Adding a few small books at a time, I submerged them in the tea and let them soak for a few minutes. I then let them drip off on a few layers of newspaper before I put them in a warm oven to dry. Drying does take a bit of time, but if you tea stain them one day, then the next you are ready to construct your wreath.

After the books were dry, I pulled each of the pages off the spine.

The wire for the wreath is a hanger. I cut the hook off and straightened it out, then I formed it into a circle. On one end I curled a closed loop that was folded vertically. On the other end I bent the end slightly in a horizontal direction. This was to visually remind me which way to bend the end when I finished the wreath. Making one vertical and one horizontal loop is important. If they were both one direction, then when they are attached the wreath will twist wonky.

The pages were simply folded in half. I placed two pages together, kinda crossing them so they didn’t line up perfectly.

The pair of pages were poked in the center with the end of the wire that was not looped, then slid around to the loop end. Because of the constant movement of the wreath while in progress, I applied a piece of masking tape over the loop and onto the first page. Yep, I know this is ugly, but it won’t be staying.

More folding, more poking, more folding, more poking…Yep, it is kinda boring, but if you put a movie on, you will be surprised how quickly it goes.

At some point you are probably wondering how many pages are needed. Well, that’s kind of hard to pinpoint. Depending on the size of your hanger, how thick your pages are and how firmly you push your folded pages together, it could be anywhere from 800-1200 pages. Most of my books were approximately 350 pages long and I used just shy of three books.

When the wreath is finally full, remove the tape from the loop and the first folded page. Bend the un-looped wire end at a right angle (in the same direction as your beginning slight bend). Insert the tip through the first loop, then curl the right angle into a closed loop.

****This project was originally posted three years ago, but I thought it was time for a revival. I put away the Christmas decorations this week and it really looks bare around here. It’s been a few years since I did a lot of decorating for Valentine’s Day. My boys are grown ups, and let’s be fair, they really weren’t that into it anyway. At least not as teenagers. But now, I think I may want to decorate for me. With the loss of a good friend, the last couple of months have been sad and depressing. It’s time to start living again. I may not get the rest of the house decorated, but the front porch will become transformed in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more on that. Meanwhile, I’m on the hunt for where I packed this little gem away.****

In a household of guys it has sometimes been a challenge expressing my girly-girl personality. My favorite color is pink, and for some reason that color always gets shot down when suggested for room decor. Hmm...I am also in love with anything painted shabby chic, but hubby likes the look of real wood. (sigh) Over the years we have compromised (sort of), so we have a mix of both. The “look” isn’t as pleasing as I would like, so whole-room reveals will probably never be posted here. 🙁We’ll see.My last baby graduates this year, so soon I will only have to m̶̶a̶̶n̶̶i̶̶p̶̶u̶̶l̶̶a̶̶t̶̶e̶ convince my b̶̶i̶̶g̶̶g̶̶e̶̶s̶̶t̶ ̶b̶̶a̶̶b̶̶y̶ husband that my way is the best way. 🙂 “Happy wife, happy life” and all that jazz...Now holidays (more specifically Valentine’s Day), I can get away with pink AND shabby chic, mostly because the guys think it will soon be put away. Thing is, after all of these years Momma sometimes “forgets” and leaves out a few stray items. Funny how that works. 😉If you have read this far in my ramblings, then you are probably wondering what any of this has to do with that photo at the top of this post. Are you still with me?Well, assuming you are, I will shamelessly post it again and get on with it.

This is my newest shabby chic (with touches of pink) Valentine’s Day decoration. Shh! Don’t tell my guys, but it may stick around for a little while.

I cut and sanded four pieces of scrap 2×2.

Painted them a pretty pink.Painted over that with white.Sanded for a little bit of shabby chic loving.